Something to Protect
by Antgirl89
Summary: Inuyasha fan fiction. Sesshomaru's son Ashimaru and Inuyasha's son Otaru develop a strong friendship that is tested by family problems and enemie's attacks.


**SOMETHING TO PROTECT**

**CHAPTER ONE: THE RUN AWAY  
**

_I do not own the anime/manga Inuyasha, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Ashimaru and Otaru were created by me._

* * *

A white silhouette was walking through the forest. It stood tall, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw, definitely a male. He reached a clearing and stopped, the wind swayed his long silver hair and fluffy pelt where he stood dressed in really fine clothes, with an armor on his person and adding to the regal look were two swords attached to his waist. Next to him stood a confused little demon toad.

"My Lord Sesshomaru why have you stopped?" asked the strange looking demon.

They were under the night sky surrounded by an endless amount of trees beyond the clearing. The light of the moon revealed Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West with a determined look on his face. A sound of rustling leaves caught his attention. He looked from the corner of his eye but did not turn his head to the direction the noise came from. He just stood there waiting. In the trees a pair of big red eyes were hiding. Then a shadow jumped out from between the trees. Sesshomaru turned around and saw a cat standing before him.

"Meow" said the small creature.

"A fire cat?" said the Lord's servant. 

"No Jaken. It's THE fire cat." said the taiyoukai.

"Oh yes! I remember now! It's the cat that travels with the hanyou my Lord. Um I believe the humans call her Kirara." Jaken said excitedly.

Sesshomaru's eyes looked downward and he noticed something on the cat's tail. He stepped closer to Kirara but she crouched in a defense position and the Lord stopped his advance. 

"This Sesshomaru only wants the trinket on your tail cat." the youkai mentioned with his face blank but with his eyes holding curiosity.

Kirara then looked at her tail, removed the object on the appendage and put it on the floor, then backed some steps to allow the youkai lord some space. Sesshomaru stepped forward and grabbed it.As he inspected the object he saw that it was a wristband made from cloth. The fabric resembled the one of his clothes and it had a metal piece attached to it in the form of a half moon. He then sniffed it and looked at the fire-cat.

"Cat. Where is HIM?" asked the taiyoukai.

Kirara turned her head in the direction she came and then meowed.Jaken just simply watched at the two youkai's exchange from the spot he stood in.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Meanwhile...

Two figures stood before a bonfire. One had long flowing hair and two triangular shaped things on top of it's head and the other figure was leaning against the first's shoulder.

"Are they within hearing range Inuyasha?" said a sweet feminine voice.

"Feh! Come on Kagome they are so noisy you can hear them from miles away." Inuyasha said.

"Can you tell what they're doing?" Kagome asked.

" They're mock fighting. I think." answered Inuyasha.

And then he looked from the corner of his eye over the tree root he was leaning on from the giant tree behind them. He looked towards the deep forest.

Two yellow eyes are peeking from a little bush in the forest night, looking around. The little eyes widen when they hear a familiar voice.

"Oi come on out Otaru! You cannot just run off and hide whenever you are loosing!" the voice said.

In the short bush a pair of black fluffy ears were showing as they twitched at the comment. The bush growled or rather the bush's inhabitant did. The figure that spoke before looked around, still hidden in shadows, and behind it was the living bush with the yellow eyes. The bush rustles and the shadowy figure turns around to see a boy with dog ears in a white and red kimono jump out from it and directly at him.

The dog boy tried to grab the figure but it was too fast for him as it jumped out of the way and the doggy fell face first to the ground. The boy with dog ears sat up rubbing his little nose in pain, this fact evident by his watery eyes, until he noticed someone in front of him and looked up to see the face of his playmate. His playmate looked somewhat older than him. He had long white hair and two magenta stripes on his cheeks, he also had ears that were in the same place as a human but looked like those of elves and lastly he possessed another pair of yellow eyes that looked much like the ones the dog boy had.

"I believed we were sparring, not playing hide and seek Otaru. Or was I mistaken?" said the older boy.

"But you always win when we spar! I wanted to try something different today Ashimaru!" the dog boy said with small tears in his eyes and a reddened nose still, consequence of the impact with the hard ground.

Ashimaru looked at Otaru with a raised brow and an amused expression but when he opened his mouth to speak another voice came from afar and interrupted him.

"Puuuuuups! It's late already start walking this way!" the woman's voice said. 

"Let's go before the miko comes for us." Ashimaru said. 

Otaru then stood up and with anger in his voice he spoke to Ashimaru.

" She's not "the miko" she's my Okaa-san!"said Otaru.

Ashimaru kept on walking ahead.

"All right, all right, just come on and stop crying.I do not like the smell of tears."the older boy said.

They kept on walking until they came across a bonfire where the voice of Kagome greeted them.

"Oh there you are!" she said cheerfully.

Another voice scolded them.

"What the heck took you so long!" said an angry Inuyasha.

The two boys got around the bonfire as well and sat. Otaru sat next to his mother's right side and she embraced him in a hug while Ashimaru sat left of Inuyasha trying to figure out what was the peculiar object in the hanyou's hands that smelled so strongly. Inuyasha rose a brow at the scrutiny of his person.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me?" he asked.

"What are you doing Inuyasha-sama?" the young pup asked back.

"Preparing dinner" Inuyasha said while stirring the stew in the pot he was heating over the fire.

Ashimaru then peeked over the half-demon's shoulder to look at the pot and see what was in it.

"Um, I think you over killed whatever that was." the pup said causing Inuyasha's eye to twitch and his claws to tighten around the pot's handle.

"Ne, Ashimaru-kun, Inuyasha is only preparing some stew so we can all eat" said Kagome from where she sat with Otaru on her lap trying to calm the hanyou and satisfy the pup's curiosity.

"Do not bother Kagome-san.I do not wish to eat human food." said Ashimaru while stepping back from Inuyasha and sitting on the floor.

"Eeeeh. Ok, I guess" Kagome said.

"But it's good!" exclaimed Otaru from her mother's lap.

"Hey if the brat does not want to eat then don't force him! More for us anyway…"said Inuyasha.

"Certainly.Besides my Chi chi-hue disapproves of me eating nothing but fresh hunted meat." said Ashimaru while crossing his arms and with his eyes closed.

As soon as the words left the older pup's mouth Inuyasha stood up and faced Ashimaru.

"Well if you pups hadn't scared Kirara off, Miroku and Sango would be here and I could be out hunting FRESH meat for all of us to eat!" Inuyasha said sounding rather frustrated.

"Inuyasha! What is wrong with you!" Kagome said.

Inuyasha scoffed and sat back again, this time besides Ashimaru who still had his eyes on him.

"Feh.Sorry kid. I'm on the edge tonight." said the half-demon.

"How come?" asked the pup.

"Well because that father of yours will soon be picking you up from your little escapade." Inuyasha answered.

Meanwhile under the night sky Sesshomaru was walking through the forest and Jaken was stumbling over the tree roots in his attempt to follow his Lord's pace. Kirara was walking ahead of them but Sesshomaru did not need her aid anymore since he had picked up the scent he was interested in tracking a while ago. Suddenly Kirara sped up and disappeared from sight.

At the camp the pups were drawing in the dirt that was on the floor. One of the drawings looked like a disfigured Inuyasha. 

"And this is my Otou-san!" said Otaru pointing to it.

Ashimaru appeared to be more skilled at drawing having portrayed a figure that resembled Kirara strongly. 

"And I drew..." but before Ashimaru could finish his sentence Kagome's voice interrupted him. 

"Kirara!" she said.

The fire cat in question was standing in front of the trees coming out of the forest.

"Meow" she said.

Inuyasha stood up and started growling.Kagome stared at him confused by his behavior.

"And Sesshomaru grrrrrr." said the half dog demon.

At the mention of this name everyone raised to their feet.Ashimaru's eyes widened and he gulped, feeling anxious of what was to come.

The tree branches gave way and before the group stood Sesshomaru, who's eyes almost immediately went to Ashimaru. The young boy stared at his father's yellow orbs before he looked down at the floor. The taiyoukai's servant was the first one to break the silence.

"Ah! Young Master Ashimaru there you are!" he said jumping from behind Sesshomaru and walking to the boy.

Inuyasha had his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt and was staring at his brother intently, studying his moves, trying to decipher his intentions. Kagome had Otaru's hand on hers, keeping him close and she was looking at the youkai lord as well; the little pup next to her was watching Jaken speak with his cousin. It was no secret Sesshomaru disliked that his son regularly ran off from his caregivers to join Inuyasha's gang. The pup enjoyed playing with his cousin because they shared many traits, due to the fact they both had inu demon blood. But still even though Inuyasha proved again and again that the pup was safe in his care, Sesshomaru rarely allowed the visits. Because of that Ashimaru kept sneaking away from his caregivers and even from Rin, once in a while, to find Inuyasha's forest to play with Otaru and listen to Kagome's stories about the other side of the well. Otaru looked at his parents and saw that they were tense, then he looked at the Lord and did the only thing that came to his young mind, he greeted him.

"Hello Sesshomaru –sama" he said innocently. 

Every one but Ashimaru looked at Otaru; the boy felt nervous because all eyes were on him and hid behind his mother's legs. Inuyasha relaxed his hold on the sword's hilt a little and inwardly admired his son's bravery at addressing the inu-youkai.

"This Sesshomaru has come to retrieve his pup" spoke the taiyoukai in a deep but smooth voice.

The statement made the pup in question snap his head up and look at his father, who's attention at the moment was directed at Inuyasha and his mate. Kagome looked at Ashimaru and Inuyasha relaxed, realizing that his brother did not come to fight him. 

"Otaru-kun you better tell your goodbyes to Ashimaru-kun" Kagome said while encouraging her son to walk to the older boy.

Inuyasha's son walked to his cousin and stared at him with watery eyes. Ashimaru looked at him shocked for a moment, but then his mouth formed a smirk when he saw the boy was sad at his impending departure.

"Goodbye Ashi-kun. Will you visit again?" said Otaru while his ears were pulled back and his eyes glistened with unshed tears showing how sad he felt.

But before the pup could answer, Sesshomaru turned and started walking, a clear signal that they were leaving. Jaken followed rapidly behind his Lord and Ashimaru walked some steps before turning around to face Otaru.

"You know I will" the youkai pup whispered to his buddy making him smile.

Ashimaru then followed his father and servant while Otaru and the rest of the gang watched them as they disappeared from sight in the foliage of the forest. The half-dog demon then sighed loudly letting escape the tension of the encounter from his body.

"That pup never learns does he? He is even more stubborn than Sesshomaru. He dares to come here even when he knows his father hates it." Inuyasha said sounding concerned and annoyed at the same time.

"Well you know he loves playing with Otaru, even though he says he's only training him." Kagome said while shaking her head and laughing a little.

"Yeah right! What he loves is getting on my nerves. That brat!" said Inuyasha as he seated back in the floor and crossed his arms.

"Well I've never heard you telling him he can't come anymore. Even when you know your brother hates that he comes to visit you. Come on Inuyasha, admit that you at least like him a little." Kagome said while looking at him with soft eyes and holding a rather sleepy Otaru by her side on the floor.

"Feh! I just pity the pup for having that asshole for a father!" said the inu-hanyou, realizing too late he had just used fowl language again, something Kagome had warned him not to do while he was around his son.

"Inuyasha!" the young miko hissed and stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Wait, Kagome! Gomen na… he tried to apologize.

"OSUWARI!" the woman said making the half-demon eat dirt.

With Inuyasha's face stuck to the floor and his mouth whispering curses, Kagome retreated to the hollow of the tree behind them and set herself to rest. Otaru, accustomed to hearing this type of argument from their parents did nothing but stir a little in his sleep. Eventually Inuyasha raised himself from the floor and took his place by his family's side followed by Kirara, who slept at their feet searching for warmth in the hollowed tree that sheltered them in the night.  


* * *

_**Author's note**__: This is only the beginning evil laugh Well this is my first Inuyasha fan fiction. I'm writing this in hopes of turning it into a fan comic someday maybe. This will be mostly focused on Ashimaru's life and how he copes with having our beloved Sesshomaru-sama as a father and on his friendship with his cousin Otaru. Please read and review so I can know that people actually like or don't like what I write. If anyone has a question feel free to e-mail me, I don't bite….not through the computer anyway, I can't lol. The second chapter will most likely be all about Sesshomaru and Ashimaru, explaining how the pups met and about Ashi's mother. Remember R & R!._

_Chi chi-hue – means father in a respectful way_

_Youkai- demon_

_Taiyoukai- demon lord_

_Miko- priestess_

_Oi- it's like saying hey_

_Okaa- san- mother_

Otou-san- father

_Ne- normally used to get someone's attention in a conversation_

_Inu- it means dog, inu-youkai would be dog demon_

_Hanyou- means half-breed_

_Feh- something Inuyasha blurts out whenever he's annoyed or angry mostly. Not a word._

_Gomen nasai – so sorry_

_Osuwari- sit_

_I'm not Japanese so some of this definitions may be a little off , feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but please be respectful. I do not mean to cause any offense to anyone by using Japanese terms on my story but if I do, I am really sorry, that was not my intention. I just felt the story would be more familiar with the show if I used them. Also English is my second language, Spanish being my first so sorry for any spelling mistakes, point them out if you find them. _


End file.
